Empire takes AIM

As anticipated by MCV, Empire has announced its floatation on the Stock Exchange, achieving a capitalisation of £35.1m. The issue of some 8,333,333 ordinary shares at a price of 60p raised £5m, with trading in the firm¹s stock due to commence trading on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on July 25th. Cash from the listing will enable the firm to increase its licence portfolio which already includes England cricket captain Nasser Hussain and cult 70s cop pairing Starsky and Hutch.

Chief executive Ian Higgins said the money from the investment would also help fund increasingly expensive development costs. He explained: "The lacing and admission to AIM will enhance our profile with customers and the proceeds will be used to invest in development to maximise the opportunities available to us in the games software market, particularly with the advent of next generation consoles."